A Professor of Magic at Hogwarts

Chapter 513: Growing Urgency

"Children, it's getting late, time for bed," Mrs. Weasley commanded from the center of the living room.

"Aunt Molly," Neville asked in a hushed voice, "When will my parents be back?"

"Don't worry, they're on night duty. If it's too late, they might stay at the safe house outside," Mrs. Weasley's tone softened immediately.

Neville nodded silently, following Harry upstairs.

---

The bright moon cast silver light over the dense trees and bushes, creating eerie shadows that sprawled across the well-kept hedges. A very decent mansion loomed in the darkness - Malfoy Manor.

A rustling sound filled the air—

"The peacocks kept by the Malfoys," a deep voice spoke. He glanced alertly from the shadows, spotting the source - a magnificent white peacock parading atop the hedge.

The wizard watched the peacock for a while, letting his guard down, speaking softly to his wife.

"We've been watching for days; I feel like today might yield something."

Alice stared at a narrow, recessed corridor in the center of the hedge, leading to two imposing wrought iron gates. Wisps of mist drifted in the woods, but combined with the cool night breeze, it became less inviting.

"I wonder what Narsissa is doing right now?" she asked softly.

"She should be asleep by this time," Frank said gently, clasping Alice's slightly cold hand.

Suddenly, the air distorted. Accompanied by a soft crack, two figures appeared abruptly. One cloaked in long black robes, wearing a hood that covered the entire face, seemed cautious. The other, quite the opposite - though also wearing a hood, immediately took it off upon arrival, casually tossing back their curly hair, surveying the surroundings.

"Put your hood on," the man growled at his companion.

Bellatrix snorted, "Since when did you become so timid, Lucius? This is your doorstep."

"I'd be fine alone; being seen doesn't bother me," Lucius restrained his anger, "but if someone finds me with an escaped convict from Azkaban—"

He suddenly fell silent.

Bellatrix wielded her wand, sneering at him.

"Should Narcissa see you trembling at gatherings?" she mocked, "Don't worry, I'll only stay here for a few days, then off to deal with those smelly giants, or—do you want the Dark Lord to pick someone else?"

"Your orders are to support the Carrow siblings, while I've been tasked with infiltrating the Ministry," Lucius impatiently said, "So, don't boss me around; I won't indulge in your madness—"

Bellatrix strode towards the wrought iron gates, her cloak swishing on the ground. A green light flashed, and the once majestic white peacock fell lifeless from the hedge.

"Annoying creature," she sneered.

"Bellatrix!" Lucius exclaimed sharply.

But her figure had vanished straight through the gates as if they didn't exist. Lucius stood still, breathing heavily. After a while, he marched inside, and silence reclaimed the surroundings.

Frank looked at his wife with concern, her fists clenched tightly, teeth audibly grinding. "That demon... she took twelve years from us..." Alice leaned against her husband, sobbing softly.

"Alice, let her revel for a while. I promise you, she'll pay," Frank embraced his wife, staring coldly at the dark wrought iron gates.

---

Early the next day, Harry watched Sirius hastily finish breakfast, preparing to head to work with Mr. Weasley, Bill, Percy, and Penelope. He held back what he wanted to say.

As if by fate, the scar on his head, tormenting him for years, suddenly felt more amiable—but even if Harry racked his brain, Voldemort couldn't possibly be kind enough to impart knowledge through the scar.

The barely convincing reason was that Voldemort didn't know about it; it was all passive.

But why hadn't this happened before? Or rather, when did it start?

Harry remembered the sudden kiss. He vigorously shook his head, dispelling the chaotic thoughts. Tracing back, it was when he 'saw' Voldemort's vision at the Ministry of Magic.

"Molly, Alastor might drop by later; he had the night shift yesterday," Mr. Weasley reminded.

"I know, I'll save some food for him," Mrs. Weasley said.

Soon, they all lined up to leave, even Fred and George.

"Uh, Professor, aren't you going to work?" Harry looked at Felix.

"I'll go later," Felix said, "The company is focusing on the Thief Waterfall; I just finished reviewing its principles yesterday. Is there something?"

Harry hesitated but nodded. He actually wanted Sirius's advice, but now, the professor seemed suitable. He knew about Harry's previous distress with the scar and had taught him Occlumency. With the symptom changes in the scar, maybe the professor had an idea? Plus, he could ask about the Killing Curse; the professor was quite adept at using it...

Felix had set up a makeshift bed in the third-floor study. As Harry entered, before he could clearly see, Felix had already extended his hand, shrinking the camp bed to the size of a matchbox and casually slipping it into a ring.

The Black family study served both as a learning space and for entertaining esteemed guests. Apart from the long desk and three bookshelves filled with books, there was a small sofa and a wooden tea table in a corner. The edges of the solid wood table looked rough, as if it had been made from a massive tree trunk.

"Are these magical creatures?" Harry looked interestedly at the animated sketches on the table, inked in dark green, depicting various animal shapes, many of which he could name.

"Yeah," Felix didn't elaborate, gathering the papers and stowing them into the ring.

Harry guessed the professor might be preparing a series of magical creature drawings, but it seemed unlikely. He couldn't fathom that Felix was attempting to construct a magical creature and magical talent combination plan.

This was one of Felix's insights after the battle with Voldemort.

During the battle, he hadn't transformed into a bird-snake personally, primarily feeling it was too risky. Magical creatures didn't hold an advantage against Voldemort's Killing Curse. However, he keenly realized a massive treasure trove within.

Because Felix suddenly realized that Voldemort seemed unaware of his and Dumbledore's transformed state, at least in Voldemort's description, the words used were "body modification" - clearly Salazar Slytherin's path.

From this, Felix judged that even though Voldemort may have undergone multiple alterations to adapt to dark magic, his uniquely tailored Killing Curse might have originated like this - but Voldemort likely couldn't transform into magical creatures.

If designed cleverly enough, this cognitive defect might become Voldemort's undoing.

---

"Professor, when did you learn the Avada Kedavra curse?" Harry decided to start with a small question, but Professor Lupin was too sharp. He just glanced at him and half-jokingly said, "Why, do you want to learn this curse too? Quite bold of you."

"It's not that I want to learn; I—um—just suddenly knew it," Harry stuttered, finally confessing.

Felix looked at him strangely. Did Harry really learn it just from seeing him use it a few

times? He felt uneasy. Had he taught the kid something bad? But when Harry described his experiences from the last two days, Felix's expression turned serious.

This was more serious than he'd anticipated - Harry, in his fervor for revenge, sought to learn the Unforgivable Curse on his own.

"Follow me," he said in a deep voice.

He led Harry to a small training ground on the fifth floor.

"Try using the Killing Curse."

Harry did, a green light shot from the wand. Both of them frowned simultaneously.

Harry felt that the spells he cast today were significantly weaker. Meanwhile, Felix noticed a hint of familiarity in his spellcasting style, indicating that what Harry had mentioned before was indeed true.

Moreover, he knew more things, such as the fact that a fragment of Voldemort's soul was hidden within Harry's body. So where did Harry acquire this knowledge? Was it from Voldemort himself, or from... that fragment of soul?

"Did you hear any noises in your head the night before last?" Felix confirmed.

"Yes, but they disappeared quickly," Harry nervously replied.

Felix fell silent, carefully observing Harry through magical sight. Even he could only glimpse traces of dark magic when Harry's mental defenses were at their weakest—a matter from the previous school year. Now, however, he hesitated to probe further.

If his guess was correct—Harry inadvertently triggered the dormant fragment of the soul. Probing now might lead to extremely serious consequences.

"Here's what we'll do," Felix pondered for a moment. "Try two other spells—Cruciatus and Dementor's Kiss—on me. Release them."

Watching Harry's shocked expression, he chuckled, "I can withstand these two spells, no need to worry about hurting me."

Anxiously, Harry waved his wand, hoping for success yet fearing it. In this state of anxiety, he inevitably failed, turning back to the professor—

"Keep going," Felix said calmly.

Stiffly, Harry continued casting the spells, but after an hour passed, he hadn't succeeded once.

"You need more determination," Felix urged.

"I can't cast the Unforgivable Curse at you, Professor," Harry murmured softly.

And then, he 'saw' Voldemort standing in front of him, crimson eyes fixed on him, startling him.

"Continue," 'Voldemort' urged.

This time, Harry quickly found his focus. Despite only knowing the spells and having no prior teaching, he succeeded. Harry appeared both bewildered and astonished, as if he had suddenly mastered three Unforgivable Curses.

How did this happen?

Meanwhile, Felix fell into deep thought.

"Professor?" Harry asked anxiously. "Can Voldemort truly influence me through the scar? Even transmit knowledge?"

"It's a possibility," Felix said. "But don't worry too much. From your description, the Occlumency is still effective, so this training must continue... I'll inform Dumbledore of your situation; perhaps he can discern something."

Dumbledore's response was swifter than expected; he appeared almost immediately after the notice was sent out.

He extensively questioned Harry's feelings, finally extracting two memories from Harry—the scene where he 'saw' Voldemort in the Ministry of Magic's hall and his first release of the Killing Curse.

Then Harry was dismissed, leaving just the two of them in the fifth-floor training area.

"Albus, do you think—" Felix hesitated.

"I'm not sure," Dumbledore shook his head. "It might just be a mere coincidence. I can propose more than one reasonable explanation; for instance, the ancient heritage of the Potter family, Harry possibly inheriting this innate ability. Or perhaps Voldemort did indeed transfer a part of his power to Harry, leading to his current changes..."

"But," he said with a serious expression, "there's also the possibility of the Horcrux's influence. We've overlooked something earlier—what did Voldemort use to aid his resurrection?"

What Horcrux did he use? Obviously... wait?

Felix contemplated the meaning behind these words.

In theory, a wizard would only need one Horcrux, acting as an anchor in the real world after the wizard's death, preserving their soul. But Voldemort, in his madness, created multiple Horcruxes, posing a question: which Horcrux was truly active after his death?

Remember, Harry himself was a Horcrux, sustaining Voldemort's residual soul.

Of course, Harry wasn't a proper Horcrux or one intentionally created by Voldemort. The likelihood of Harry being required to maintain Voldemort's remaining soul was slim, but not nonexistent; there were other Horcruxes ahead in line.

However, the problem was that before Voldemort's resurrection, his Horcruxes had been destroyed one by one.

The diary was the first;

The crown was the second, followed by the locket, and then the snake accompanying Voldemort, a total of four Horcruxes. Wait a minute—

"Was the locket destroyed?" Felix confirmed.

When he handed over Slytherin's locket to Dumbledore, it was intact.

"I kept it for analysis," Dumbledore shook his head lightly. "But I found another Horcrux, a ring passed down through the generations of Voldemort's mother's lineage. Voldemort placed a malicious curse on it, and I nearly fell victim to it, luckily your protective charm alerted me..."

"I see," Felix nodded. That made it five, with the intact locket in Dumbledore's possession.

If Voldemort had even an ounce of sanity, he'd have split his soul into no more than nine pieces—

"I personally lean toward the number 'seven'," Dumbledore nodded slightly. "Though I haven't obtained concrete evidence, I've begun to have an inkling."

"Do you need help?" Felix asked.

"Ah, I can manage; Harry is assisting me... and if the persuasion becomes too extravagant, it might scare my old friend away," Dumbledore said with a smile.

Felix continued pondering.

Suppose the diary was the first to become active. After its destruction, a new Horcrux would inevitably take its place, like the crown. And after the crown, it would be the snake or the ring until it shifted to the locket or another unknown Horcrux now.

But that's in an ideal scenario.

What if, during any of these stages, Harry's 'half-Horcrux' also got involved? There's definitely a link between the fragmented soul and the main soul. When would this connection be at its strongest?

Certainly, when the Horcrux was sustaining the main soul from dispersing.

This also explained Harry's increasing scar pain before learning Occlumency; because his Horcrux was starting to function!

"Albus, do you think—will the fragment of soul inside Harry's body 'resurrect'?" This was Felix's greatest concern.

"It's unlikely," Dumbledore shook his head. "The Horcrux's function isn't resurrection, especially a mere fragment—it wouldn't serve any purpose... However, nobody knows the consequences of turning a living person into a Horcrux, not even Voldemort himself."

"The Horcrux itself possesses extremely resilient traits, but in Harry, these traits aren't evident, indicating that a living Horcrux is unique," Dumbledore said after a moment of silence. "I fear Harry is 'digesting' the Horcrux, or rather—merging with Voldemort's fragmented soul."

Felix lifted his head in astonishment but had to admit the possibility. He began considering countermeasures.

"Occlumency might alleviate this symptom."

"Exactly," Dumbledore nodded gently.

"And also, " Felix's blue eyes began to shine, "we can't wait another ten years—we certainly can't wait longer, especially Harry! We must resolve this Voldemort issue within a year or two! The sooner, the better!"

"That happens to be the most challenging task," Dumbledore murmured softly.

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